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Epson sees fashionable potential in Australia’s first Clothing Smart Factory
21 July 2026
(l-r) Epson Australia Corporate Marketing Manager, Priscilla Dickason, Marianne Perkovic, Executive Chair, Australian Fashion Council, Samantha Delgos, General Manager, Australian Fashion Council, and Epson Australia Managing Director Craig Heckenberg
The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) has commissioned a landmark feasibility study to establish a first-of-its-kind Clothing Smart Factory in Australia. The study is backed by global technology leader Epson, the AFC’s strategic print and projection partner supporting the digital textile printing capability, and supported by Investment NSW through its Fostering Innovation Sponsorship Program.
Epson is already helping drive the future of onshore garment manufacturing through its Monna Lisa direct-to-fabric digital textile printing technology. Designed for on-demand manufacturing, the technology helps reduce waste, lower water and energy consumption, and shorten supply chains—supporting a more sustainable and responsive fashion industry. Featuring precision print technology and water-based pigment inks, the Monna Lisa series enables brands to produce locally, respond more quickly to changing consumer trends, and improve production efficiency while enhancing creative flexibility making local manufacturing more commercially viable.
Craig Heckenberg, Managing Director of Epson Australia and New Zealand, says: “Epson is once again proud to support the Australian Fashion Council on another important initiative. Digital textile printing is transforming how garments are designed and made, reducing waste and water use while enabling local, on-demand production. We are delighted we can bring our technology and expertise to a project that will reshape the future of Australian fashion manufacturing.”
A Clothing Smart Factory is a next-generation, technology-enabled manufacturing facility designed to bring onshore garment production back for Australian brands. The purpose-built manufacturing incubator will allow brands to test ideas, conduct R&D and run small production at a scale and cost that is currently unviable onshore.
The study brings together a research consortium of three of Australia’s leading universities, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Swinburne University of Technology and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and, combining deep expertise across advanced manufacturing, textile technology and the emerging skills needed to power the fashion industry’s digital transformation.
The Clothing Smart Factory will investigate a Cut, Make and Trim (CMT) facility equipped with digital pattern making, digital textile printing, CNC cutting, automated production line machinery and advanced finishing technologies. The final study will deliver a blueprint to establish a smart factory in NSW, assessing market demand, technical requirements, workforce and skills, financial modelling and opportunities for government and industry co-investment.
The Hon. Anoulack Chanthivong MP, NSW Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, adds: “The NSW Government is proud to support initiatives that keep fashion and textile manufacturing right here in New South Wales. A clothing smart factory has the potential to create skilled local jobs, strengthen our advanced manufacturing base and broaden our innovation ecosystem. This feasibility study is an important step in building the networks across academia and industry to enhance our manufacturing expertise and competitiveness in this sector.”
The initiative is directly aligned with the NSW Government’s Fashion Sector Strategy, which signals strong appetite for investment in the sector and a priority for the state. The AFC’s longer-term ambition is a scalable, replicable model that could underpin a national network of smart factories over the coming decade. Together with the AFC’s work across Australian Fashion Week, Global Gateways export development, workforce capability and the National Manufacturing Strategy, the Clothing Smart Factory represents another pillar in rebuilding Australia’s fashion ecosystem from design through to manufacturing and global market access.
Sam Delgos, General Manager of the AFC, says: “Australia has extraordinary design talent, but for decades we’ve watched our clothing manufacturing capability move offshore. If we’re serious about building a globally competitive fashion industry, we need the infrastructure to support it. This feasibility study is our blueprint; bringing together industry, government and Australia’s leading universities to explore a new model for advanced, on-demand production. We’re building the case for long-term investment in sovereign manufacturing, future skills and local production”
